I have long admired the Cal Poly music program and am so glad to now be here with its exceptional faculty, staff and students. Stepping into this role was both exciting and, given the legacy of leadership that preceded me, humbling. Cal Poly is special.
I moved to the Central Coast with my husband, John Jacobson, who now teaches at Templeton High School, and our two daughters, who are each attending college in different parts of California. As a French horn player, I was delighted to find many performance opportunities and quickly joined the SLO Trumpet Alliance and SLO Chamber Orchestra. Feeling welcomed by my university colleagues and our vibrant arts community makes me feel in many ways like I have come home. While I had the opportunity to work professionally and artistically with several of the faculty before arriving at Cal Poly, one of the faculty, W. Terrence "Terry" Spiller, I have known for quite a while, as he was my undergraduate class piano instructor at USC!
Fall quarter began as a sprint. With the quarter-to-semester conversion, the faculty worked fiercely to revise and diversify the curriculum to reflect the needs of our students and the professional expectations of the discipline. In doing this meaningful work together, the Cal Poly music faculty demonstrated they are wholly dedicated to student success through providing a means to engage in musical excellence and academic rigor within a culture that fosters diversity, equity, inclusion and access.
You can see on the next page how active our students were in 2022-23. In addition, they engaged with a fantastic lineup of guest artists, including Alicia Olatuja, andPlay, Andrew Surmani, Bill Banfield, Darryl Taylor, line upon line, Madrone String Quartet and Terence Blanchard. Next year promises to be equally dynamic with members of Cal Poly’s Symphony and Choirs touring Northern France!
I mentioned before that Cal Poly is special. In upcoming issues, I will share a few of my favorite things about it, starting with how our students experience hands-on mentorship. The music faculty embrace Learn by Doing, and provide our students personalized guidance and opportunities typically afforded only to graduate students in other programs. Examples of these opportunities from this year include student-conducting of the choir and orchestra in concerts, students having their compositions performed at chamber music and big band performances and a student in the Arab Music Ensemble who learned to be a luthier and performed on some of his own instruments in concert.
I am optimistic about the artistic opportunities that await us. Building on our program’s foundational strengths and musical legacy, I am confident that our department will continue to evolve, adapt and thrive. I thank you for your unwavering financial support and belief in our shared vision and hope to meet you in person at a music event. Here’s to another year of growth, success and meaningful music making!
Alicia M. Doyle, Chair
Music Department